NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene baseball completed the four-game sweep of Canyon County rival College of Idaho on Saturday, taking both games of the doubleheader by scores of 7-1 and 14-11.
Game One
NNU shut down C of I's offense in the opener, limiting the Yotes to just one run on six hits.
Haden Keller went seven strong innings of shutout ball with 12 strikeouts, followed by
Blake McFadden in the eighth and
Max Holtzclaw coming in for the save, striking out three of the four batters he faced.
The Nighthawks first got on the board in the third, as
Parker Price brought home two runs with a double down the left field line. NNU didn't score again until the seventh, when
Duke Pahukoa notched an RBI single.
The Yotes tallied their run in the top of the eighth to cut the deficit to 3-1, but NNU responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
Grant Kerry,
Cameron Bogard,
Quentin Ayers, and
Colton Moore tallied the RBIs, building the lead to 7-1.
Price and Pahukoa both had two hits for the Nighthawks.
Game Two
The second game looked like it was going to go the Yotes way, as C of I took a 7-2 lead after a six-run third inning.
NNU chipped away with three runs in the third, as
Parker Price knocked a two-run double and
Colton Moore drove Price in with an RBI groundout. College of Idaho extended their lead back to five, though, taking a 10-5 advantage after the top of the seventh.
The Nighthawks then rallied, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Grant Kerry led things off with an inside-the-park home run off the wall in straightaway center field. NNU would bat around, as
Parker Price scored twice in the inning and drove in two runs as well.
The Yotes got a run back in the top of the eighth, but
Max Holtzclaw came in again to close the game out and earn the save.
Kerry finished the game 4-5 with an RBI, while Price was 3-4 with 4 RBIs and three runs scored.
Duke Pahukoa also had two hits and an RBI, and
Haden Keller,
Rumble Reyes, and
Colton Moore all picked up two RBIs each.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will head back out on the road next week, visiting No. 3 Colorado Mesa for a four-game series from Feb. 24-26.
